BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 19|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 19
Author: Cedillo (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
SUBJECT : Enforcement of immigration laws
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution condemns specified policies and
practices of federal agencies regarding the enforcement of
immigration laws, and urges Congress and the President of
the United States to declare an immediate moratorium on
those policies and practices until a comprehensive reform
of immigration laws is enacted and implemented.
ANALYSIS : Legislative findings and declarations of this
resolution indicate that according to the United States
Census Bureau, one of every eight people living in the
United States is an immigrant and approximately one-third
of those immigrants are undocumented. There are
approximately 8.1 million undocumented workers in the
United States economy comprising 15 percent of the national
labor force with an annual federal tax contribution of more
than $30 billion. In California alone, there are 8.9
million immigrants, making up 26 percent of the total
population and one-third of California's labor force, who
figure prominently in agriculture, manufacturing,
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construction, and service industries. Those immigrants pay
approximately $4.5 billion in state taxes each year,
significantly contributing to California's economy. In
California, the average immigrant-headed household
contributes a net of $2,679 annually to social security,
which is $539 more than the average household headed by a
person born in the United States. Immigrants are among
California's most productive entrepreneurs, and have
created jobs for tens of thousands of Californians. By
2000, immigrant owners of Silicon Valley companies created
72,839 jobs and generated more than $19.5 billion in sales.
Google, Sun Microsystems, eBay, and Yahoo! are all
companies that were founded or co-founded by immigrants.
In the absence of comprehensive federal immigration reform,
the program initiated under the Bush Administration known
as "Operation Return to Sender," the federal Department of
Homeland Security, through the Bureau of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted aggressive raids in
homes and workplaces in efforts to locate, detain, and
deport undocumented immigrants. The Obama Administration,
in order to take action and implement some type of
enforcement while federal comprehensive immigration reform
is considered, has shifted its focus to an "enforcement
only" policy in the form of aggressive unprecedented
enforcement against employers who hire immigrants. In
order to achieve better enforcement, the federal Department
of Homeland Security and the federal Social Security
Administration seek to require use of the E-Verify system,
federal employment verification, audits of profiled
companies that hire immigrants, and expansion of police-ICE
collaboration. As a result, employers may well engage in
prohibited behavior, such as using verification programs
for purposes other than verifying employment eligibility or
to prescreen employment candidates, resulting in
discrimination against workers. After a meeting between
President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in
Guadalajara, Mexico, President Obama announced that
immigration reform legislation will have to wait until
2010.
This resolution condemns the excessive employer audits,
mandatory use of the E-Verify system, immigration raids,
arrests, detentions, and deportations of undocumented
SJR 19
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immigrants conducted by the federal Department of Homeland
Security, through the Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. It also urges Congress and the President of
the United States to declare an immediate moratorium on the
aggressive, unprecedented enforcement of employer
sanctions, including excessive audits of profiled companies
that hire immigrants, the expanded use of the E-Verify
system, the federal system of employment verification, the
expansion of police-ICE collaboration, and immigration
raids in the State of California, until our nation can
enact and implement a comprehensive and just reform of our
immigration laws with a comprehensive immigration program
that recognizes the broad contributions immigrants have
made to the fabric of the country.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
DLW:mw 9/9/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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